California Dreamin’: San Diego Zoo

Jeanne, Ursula, Rick, and I went to the San Diego Zoo yesterday.

It was a dreamy sort of day. January 18th and 80 degrees out. Back in Seattle, I walk past the Woodlawn Zoo twice a week, but I have not stepped foot in a zoo in ages. The San Diego Zoo is huge! It must be at least five times the size of Seattle’s zoo. The San Diego Zoo is also a botanical garden. Of course, I have mixed feelings about zoos. I can’t help but feel sorry for the animals living in captivity when they should be running wild in places like the African savanna or the jungles of Asia. I kept reminding myself that so many of the animals living in this spacious well-maintained zoo are on the endangered list and are being protected within the confines of zoo life.

Pictured below: Jeanne, me, Ursula, and Rick

One of the best zoo activities we did was to buy the Backstage Pass which let us meet the animal trainers and get a closer view of some of the animals. I got to feed baby rhinos and Rick, Jeanne, and Ursula pet a bearcat.

It’s a dream of mine to go to the San Diego zoo! Remember, most zoos today are NOT for profit. The San Diego zoo is one of the leaders in wildlife preservation and most animals in zoos are there because they would have either died in the wild or been killed (either by poachers or due to overpopulation as with the African elephants, for example). I believe that any zoo accredited by the AZA (http://www.aza.org/current-accreditation-list/) is an ethical zoo to visit.